NOTES

about the stacked 1" K-Line Filter

Important Safety Note: The Baader K-Line filter must be used only with an additional OD-reduction filter, e.g. AstroSolar Photo Film
w. Optical Density 3.8 (included). It is designed exclusively for photographic use with CCD-cameras or video modules (like monochrome Celestron Skyris cameras). It is not intended for visual observation1.
In 1814, Joseph v. Fraunhofer observed the spectral lines of the sun for the first time
and assigned a nomenclature to the most striking lines, beginning in the red part of
the spectrum and ending in the violet part. Some of his designations are still in use
today.
The stacked Baader K-Line Filter shows the Sun in the two Fraunhofer-lines:

CA-K: 393.37 nm (3933.7 )

CA-H: 396.85 nm (3968,5 )

of sunlight at around 390nm) directly into anyones eyes. We really cant understand
why telescopes with CaK-filters were ever offered for visual observations and sometimes are still being offered!
Calcium-K-light (at around 390 nm) is emitted from a layer of the sun which is about
500 km above the photosphere (which is called white light = continuum at about
550 nm). Basically, you look into the boundary layer between upper photosphere and
lower chromosphere, while H-alpha-light at 656.28nm is emitted within the upper
chromosphere, which marks the boundary layer between the chromosphere and the
inner corona of the Sun.

This distinctive part of the spectrum is also called CA-II. The K-line is very broad and
can be split with special, very expensive filters into the components K1, K2 and
K3. The Baader K-Line-filter has a half band width (HBW) of 8nm (80 ). The human
eye is almost blind at these UV-wavelengths, and at the same time UV-radiation below
390nm can cause severe damage to the eye. This is why the Baader K-Line filter is
NOT approved for visual observation1.
The small spectral width of the filter of only 8nm delivers much higher contrast than
what would be predicted because two such filters are combined (stacked) in one
filter cell. They are mounted slightly tilted towards each other inside of their common
housing. This avoids reflections between the two filters. In this way, reflections and
scattered light will not impair the contrast of the image. See the following image for
comparison::
Calcium-Image with clearly visible plagues

The solar disk appears blue in CaK-light, exhibiting a network of structures in the
chromosphere which appears much brighter.
These bright plages are usually associated with faculae and sunspots in the photosphere - and these plagues can be seen all over the sun.

If you were to take a very short glance at the sun through the K-Line-filter in
combination with Astro Solar Photo Film, you would see some asymmetrical, very dim
sun dogs far away from the center of the image. They are caused by the tilt of the
filters. With parallel filters, these reflections would all overlap and destroy the image
quality. But since all reflections are directed to the side, you can image the centered
UV-Sun through your telescope.
These reflections are not an indicator of problems with the filter instead they
are the reason why the Baader K-line filter works as well as it does - at a stunningly low price!

Please remember: Never look into the sun with the K-Line filter
without an additional OD-reduction filter!
This warning is valid for observation with a telescope as well as for the naked eye. The
sensory cells in our eye are almost blind for the UV-part of the spectrum. If you hold
this filter in front of your eyes in bright daylight, youll see nothing of the landscape
at all. If you hold it against the sun, you will see it and it will not at all feel gleaming
bright. But exactly here lies the danger: although you dont perceive it, there is a lot of
harmful UV radiation entering your eye.
UV-intensity must be very high for us to see anything in UV at all. It is mindboggling
negligence to bring such a high energy density (that is: it is the almost full intensity
1

This network in the chromosphere consists of cells of supergranulation which measure roughly
30,000km in diameter. There are
very strong magnetic fields at their
edges. The network appears much
more prominent and richer in contrast in CaK-light than in white-light.
Sunspot group on the edge of the sun,
As you are imaging the boundary retaken with Baader K-Line Filter
gion to the chromosphere (H-alpha
light), you may sometimes even capture a picture of so called Ellerman bombs these are micro-flares close to sun spots. CaK-images are usually taken in monochrome
(black & white) and are color coded later during image processing.

You can find an animation on our website which shows the difference between
white-light (continuum, 550nm) and Calcium-K (395nm). There are also illustrations and explanations regarding Ellerman bombs and Supergranulation::
www.astrosolar.com/animation-cak-cont

AstroSolar Photo Film OD 3.8 has been

delivered since mid-2015 with the
warning sticker shown on the right.
Please attach it to your filter-cell to
avoid accidents

Please do not use this product if you dont feel well-informed about the risks and hazards involved in improper handling.

BAADER PLANETARIUM

G
M
B
H

Zur Sternwarte D-82291 Mammendorf Tel. +49 (0) 8145 / 8089-0 Fax +49 (0) 8145 / 8089-105
Baader-Planetarium.de kontakt@baader-planetarium.de Celestron-Deutschland.de
2015: Dipl.-Ing. W. Paech und Baader Planetarium GmbH